eskfandomcom-20200213-history
Humans
Humans, perhaps the most numerous species on Esk, are technically alien. They are, in fact, so foreign that some types of magic are entirely ineffectual against them. Their Empire spans most of the continent of Draconfall. Description 'Average Height: '''5.8 '''Average Weight: '''160 '''Classification: '''Alien '''Homeland: '''Human Empire Humans are bipedal creatures with a passing similarity to Vardoks. Most of them, however, are far less hairy. Human skin colors can range from pale white to dark brown. They have five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. History and Lore In the year 2250, human time, The Human Empire, then called The Unity, was devastated by a mysterious enemy. They called it “The Death Cloud,” because it consumed entire planets. It is unknown when this creature appeared, but one thing was clear: it would wipe out the Unity before long. The humans used every weapon they had at their disposal, but the creature seemed barely affected. One by one, humanity's outlying colonies were consumed, with few survivors. Eventually, only Earth remained. The humans knew they had to leave and find a place far away from the Death Cloud. In 2251, the surviving humans left earth in several massive colony ships. The Death Cloud destroyed Earth, their home planet, and followed the humans, destroying their ships one by one until only the ''Dracon was left, containing nearly 1,000,000 humans. The ship sensors detected a wormhole nearby that was large enough for a ship to enter. Desperate for escape and running low on fuel, the humans decided that entering the wormhole was their best--indeed, their only--option. Riding the wormhole disabled several key systems and caused massive damage to the ship, but they eventually came out on the other side with minimal casualties. Nynan, to the relief of all aboard, was nowhere to be found. The Dracon had come out near the planet Esk, but due to the extensive damage from traveling through the wormhole, could not maintain its orbit. The ship crash-landed on the eastern continent, and many died during the crash. This was in Esk Year 3000. The denizens of Esk had seen the crash, and went to investigate. By this time, the humans had begun leading their people out from the wreckage of their ship, and were startled to see that the planet was inhabited. The Vardoks were the first to introduce themselves, though the two races could not understand one another. The Avirans disguised themselves as members of ship's crew and parts of the surrounding terrain, hoping to observe the humans clandestinely until the right moment to make contact. The Salmak sent an armed scouting party to observe the intruders, but decided to refrain from making contact, advising the other races to leave the humans alone. The Whistlers knew that the humans had crashed, but didn't seem to care. Several days passed, and the humans began to think they had escaped the Death Cloud. Unfortunately, on the fourth day after the humans landed on Esk, it found them. The Death Cloud became known to the people of Esk as Nynan, “The Curse.” During the crisis, the humans retreated into the safety of their colony ship. It is believed that the ship's hull provided a kind of limited shielding against Nynan's power, though some of the humans were still affected. These were immediately put down by the others, to prevent them from causing harm. In this way, the humans survived Nynan's onslaught in much better shape than the other races. After Nynan fell to Esk, the Winds decided that the humans and their advanced technology were dangerous. Genta wanted to destroy the humans and their technology completely, but Malka prophesied that the humans and their technology would have an important part to play in the future of Esk. Tolna agreed, wanting to see what the humans would do next, and Sestra didn't care as long as they left the Whistlers alone. So, the Winds enchanted the humans, making them forget where they came from and how to use their technology. Malka took their technology and hid it. With their memories gone, the humans settled on Esk and formed an agrarian society. By 3150, a number of city-states had grown up from this early society. The largest and most ambitious one was called Ravenna. In the summer of 3293, the Salmak invaded human territory, taking many of the border cities and towns. The invasion was a response to the signing of the Unity Pact, a document that would cement most of the human city-states into a national entity. Ironically, this had been done for mutual protection from Salmak raids and criminal elements. The cities of the Republic formed an army to deal with the threat. At first, the humans seemed to be losing the war, but received assistance from the Vardoks, who had traded with them and had become close allies. Their combined forces managed to push back the invasion. There was no peace treaty signed, but both peoples remained on their side of the river, watching the other side closely. Afterward, the Republic prospered under the guidance of the Senate, building a system of roads between cities and bringing order throughout the land. In 3400, Malcolm Benton, a great human general, waged a year-long civil war with the republican city states, eventually setting himself up as King Malcolm I. Simon of Gaar, the Oracle of Nynan, taught Malcolm many strange things, including how to create living weapons for use in conquering Esk. In 3430, Malcolm put these weapons to use, moving into Salmak territory and pushing the Salmak back into the Stonefield. The Vardoks surrendered shortly afterward, in 3431, becoming part of the newly established Human Empire. The Human Empire held sway over most of Draconfall until the year 3550, when it was attacked by strange, bestial creatures from beyond the Western Mountains. The Empire devoted so many resources to stopping this invasion that the Frontier Cities and the Vardoks of Greening decided to revolt against the Empire. Meanwhile, the majority of the Salmak clans took Fort Sanctus and assaulted the city of Gunn. Clan Alvrak sided with the humans. Gunn would have been overcome, if not for the timely intervention of Genta, Wind of the Salmak. Genta stopped both sides from fighting one another and sent them both to help the Empire against the strange beastmen. However, this help became unnecessary when the newly resurrected Imtelor appeared and granted the beastmen intelligence, sending them back to form a new society under the watchful eye of their creator. In the end, the Empire survived, though greatly diminished in size. Greening was able to retain independence, as were the Frontier Cities. Racial Bonuses +5 Willpower Cannot use magic Immune to mental magic Can operate human technology Category:Races of Esk